In the production of fluid hydrocarbons, well bores are typically formed in a subterranean hydrocarbon formation by rotating a drill bit attached to a drill string through the ground and into the underlying formation. The conventional manner of drilling a well bore typically involves rotating the drill bit at the end of the drill string by operation of a mud motor. The mud motor is typically a positive displacement motor in which pressurized drilling fluid flows into a cavity formed between a rotor and a stator. The drilling fluid drives the rotor which, in turn, rotates the drill bit coupled to the motor.
Under circumstances in which drilling is carried out in a hard or compact drilling medium such as rock, a jet of pressurized drilling fluid may complement the cutting action of the drill bit to increase the speed of the drilling operation. In some applications, the same drilling fluid which is used to drive the rotor and the drill bit of the mud motor may be distributed through conduits and ejected from discharge openings in the drill bit against the medium. In such applications, however, the pressure of the drilling fluid may not be sufficient to significantly enhance the cutting action of the drill bit, particularly under circumstances in which the drilling medium is highly resistant to the drilling operation.
Therefore, a drilling pressure intensifying device which amplifies the pressure of drilling fluid used to augment the drilling efficacy or speed of a drill bit in the drilling of subterranean wells is needed.